Chapter 2Despised for My Fear

[! HOST! YOU CALL THAT A KICK? I COULD BREATHE ON HIM HARDER THAN THAT!] the System roared.

I held back my tears, determined not to cry in front of Kael again. The System’s scolding left me flustered. I started to pull my foot away, but another sharp reprimand from the System made me press it back against him.

[But… I think he is angry. His ears are all red,] I whispered in my defense.

Kael’s ears were indeed red—a translucent, crimson hue, as if all the blood in his body had rushed to them. He stared down at my slipper, then shot me an icy glare.

“Faye, do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

That scared me even more. Ignoring the System’s threats, I started sobbing again. “I’m sorry!” I whimpered, trying to retract my foot.

But this time, Kael’s hand shot out and grabbed my ankle. His palm was searingly hot, his long fingers wrapping around me with ease.

Caught off guard, I stumbled and fell in a clumsy heap in the snow right in front of him. The tears I’d been holding back finally came crashing down.

Only then did Kael slowly release me. He tilted his chin up, looking down at my pathetic, sprawling form with an air of indifference. “If you ever come near me again, it won’t be just a fall.”

I nodded, trembling, and scrambled away. After a few steps, I stopped and turned back. I gave him a deep bow, repeating, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Then I rushed forward again, intending to pat the footprint off his clothes. But my hand brushed against a hard, raised object beneath the fabric.

!

He had a dagger hidden there!

For the first time, a flicker of panic crossed Kael’s face. He seized my wrist, grabbing my collar and pulling me up so we were eye to eye. “Don’t get any ideas. It’s just that… it’s been a long time… so it’s easy to…”

He took a deep, steadying breath, cutting off his own vague explanation. “Get away from me!” he snarled.

Coming from a man who had seen battle, the force of his voice was enough to make my legs turn to jelly. I stumbled away, my feet sinking deep into the snow with every panicked step.

Once I was back in my room, I finally caught my breath enough to speak to the System. “That counts as a success, right, Mr. System?”

I ticked off the points on my fingers. “I spilled the soup, I kicked him a bunch, and he got angry and yelled at me.”

The System was speechless. [Your next mission,] it said, its voice dripping with annoyance, [is to imprison Kael after he’s thrown out of the family. You will whip him and humiliate him every day.]

“How… how do I humiliate him?”

[Just improvise… no, forget it. When the time comes, you’ll listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Not one word more, not one action more. Got it?]

I nodded obediently.

But the System still wasn't convinced.

[Faye, do you understand what ‘do exactly as I say’ means? If I tell you to breathe hard, you don’t get to breathe soft. If I tell you not to cry, you suck those tears right back in!]

I clenched my fists. “I’ll try my best next time! I’m sorry, Mr. System. I messed things up for you this time.”

That seemed to satisfy it.

[By the way, the source text is vague about this part of Kael’s life. So you only need to remember one line. You have to get this line right.]

The System’s voice changed, mimicking a tone that was chillingly cool and flippant, cruel and sharp.

[Brother, for the rest of your life, you are fit for only one thing: to be my dog.]